Lost and Found
The day was just starting to come to its end in the human world. The sun's rays stained the skies with orange, and the clouds appeared red with anger, though that was not the case. But that fading light had trouble finding its way through the filtering leaves of a forested region beneath the brightly colored skyscape. A lone figure stood upon a high branch within that forest, holding a piece of cloth. She did not dress in the garb of the modern age - it appeared as though she was time warped from the Edo era: her dark clothes were covered by a white haori, bearing the mark "二" within a diamond-shaped design on the back. Other than this raiment, her dark brown hair was visibly tied up in a ponytail. The cloth she held was a scrap of white without visible designs. She heard a light hum, and another similarly garbed, with the exception of the haori, appeared beside her, kneeling. His hair, in stark contrast, was a silvery color, spiking up to lengths that appeared unnatural. His blue eyes showed no emotion as he waited for acknowledgement from the other. "Report, Kurohara," she crisply ordered. "The men found traces of his presence here, as you suspected, though there was no indication of any activity taking place," Kurohara answered. "Tell them to rendezvous on me at sunset. We'll move out once everyone has been gathered," the other said in reponse. "Yes, Captain," Kurohara nodded, and was gone the next instant with the same humming noise. The female captain frowned as she stared at the scrap of cloth in her hand. She scrutinized it closely, even though there was nothing to be seen upon it. The investigation was not going well. Her superior has gone missing, and it was her duty, as the Captain of the Second Division, to discover where and why he disappeared. Well, that duty was extended to the relatively new Investigative Task Force, though it appeared to her that the executives of the Central 46 thought that the new branch lacked the experience that the Onmitsukidō possessed, thus the two groups were working in conjunction. "What are you up to, Yōjirō?" she muttered to herself, attempting to spark some idea of her own. A large black crack appeared in the sky next to the Captain of the 2nd Division and a figure dressed in a noble outfit steps out to meet the Captain. "Hello Captain Fujibayashi, Its nice to see you again, but I wish it was under better circumstances" the young shinigami says to his old Captain. The figure descends down and stands next to her and bows showing respect. Yue pulls out a letter from the current General Captain handing it to Fujibayashi, the letter states that Yue is to work with the 2nd Division in the apprehension of Ex-General Captain Magatsuhi. Hotaru scowled as she accepted the letter with her free hand, looking at it only briefly before crumpling it, tossing it to the side. "It would be better circumstances if you used a more traditional method of coming here, Yue." Before the crumpled paper hit the ground, there was a flurry of movement, accompanied by light humming. Onmitsukidō began appearing in the same manner as Kurohara. The direct subordinate himself appeared in time to catch the crumpled paper before it came close to touching the ground. Many of the Onmitsukidō that arrived had hands on sheathed weapons, not expecting the appearance of Yue, but relaxed their tense postures at Hotaru's gesture. Kurohara flattened the paper to read it himself before burning it with minor ''hadō''. "Reporting." Hotaru surveyed each of the Onmitsukidō carefully, as though to study the appearance of each, even though their garments were designed to hide any sense of individuality. "Where are Rikkimaru and Ayame?" They all looked at each other questioningly, wordlessly coming to the conclusion that two of their own was indeed absent. The atmosphere gradually grew in intensity as they stood in silence expecting Rikkimaru and Ayame to arrive at any moment. But he did not come. "Kurohara: come with me. The rest of you will stand by until I or Kurohara return," Hotaru ordered. One of them made a sound of confirmation. As Hotaru turned east, where the two missing Onmitsukidō were supposed to be investigating, she looked at Yue. "You can come if you wish." With those words, Hotaru, with Kurohara following close behind, went off, disappearing into the underbrush. Yue follows with Flash Steps and isnt far behind Hotaru and Kurohara. "So who are we searching for Captain?" Yue asks appearing next to Hotaru. "Your question makes me relieved that you're no longer a member of my division or a captain," Hotaru answered sharply, "did Captain Shakyamuni not tell you, or did your memory fail you?" Kurohara remained silent, knowing better than to not bother his captain while she was in this mood. He knew and understood her agitation and frustration - the Onmitsukidō was investigating the incident ever since former-Captain Yōjirō abandoned his post, and their advances were minimal. Hotaru gets worried and annoyed when her division gets little done over a large period of time. Yue's carefree attitude shatters and he becomes serious. "I know were after Captain Magatsuhi, Even after all this time you still dont have a sense of humor, and if im not mistaken you recommended me as Captain of the Ninth Division way back when." Yue says as he picks up a familiar spiritual pressure with his acquired Pesquisa ability. "Someone's near and I recognize their spiritual pressure." "I'm not in the mood for this," Hotaru said. She stopped her flash stepping, and pulled out a tantō from within her black clothes. It was her ''zanpakutō'', much different than the more traditional katana like the one sheathed at Kurohara's side. Without letting the light gleam on the flat side of the clean blade, Hotaru took another flash step, appearing at the scene. The bodies of the missing Onmitsukidō laid there, bloodied and apparently gored in some places. Hotaru's first thought was that they were ambushed by a stealthy hollow. She knelt towards the body of Rikkimaru, looking at one of the wounds more closely. They were clearly dead for some time, since their blood was dry and their skin was cold to the touch. The wound that Hotaru was studying, in particular, was a jagged wound, from the likes of a bladed weapon. Rikkimaru was probably stabbed from behind, and the assailant finished him by carving into his innards. A pitiful death. The inspection of Ayame's body by Kurohara offered the same scenario - a stab wound in her chest, followed by jagged sword motions without withdrawing the weapon. "They were clearly ambushed," Kurohara declared. Hotaru nodded in agreement. Yue looks towards the horizon. "Ill look on ahead, the assailant couldn't have gotten far, They wont get away" Yue says as his eyes glow red and he vanishes with a ''Crackling Noise'' towards to strange spiritual pressure in the direction of the horizon. "Yue!" Hotaru called out after him, but he was gone before she could react. "That idiot. The trail has gone cold a long time ago. There is no point in pursuing now. Kurohara, place a barrier here to preserve the scene and inform the others to rendezvous here. I'm going to personally report our investigations here back at the Seireitei." Kurohara acknowledged the orders and immediately went to work while Hotaru sent a hell butterfly to request the opening of the senkaimon and for a captains' meeting to report her findings to the Gotei 13. When it was opened, she quickly traveled through it, making it to the other side with little effort. The captain was sure that many were eager to hear what she had to say. :To be continued... Category:Collaborations by Lavi Category:Site-wide continuity